Each year the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences gives its highest honor, the Dean's Award for Achievement, to someone who has made a substantial contribution to the practice of engineering or the applied sciences and/or has had an exceptional professional career. This year UB Engineering is pleased to honor Mr. Norman R. McCombs, Senior Vice President of AirSep Corporation, in recognition of his innovative patents and breakthrough contributions to medical technology, most notably in the technology of Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA). Through his extraordinary works in the development, design, and manufacture of portable oxygen concentrators, Mr. McCombs has alleviated the suffering of millions worldwide, and through his industry, has created jobs for thousands of people in Western New York and around the world.

Mr. McCombs is a product of Western New York and the educational system here. He was born in Amherst, New York, graduated from Amherst Central High School in 1956, and received his associate's degree in electrical engineering at Erie Community College in 1958. In 1968 he went on to earn a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University at Buffalo. He currently resides in Tonawanda, New York with his wife of 47 years, Grace (Seitz). In 1956, he began his career in development at Fedders Corporation, and in 1963 moved to research at the Linde Division of Union Carbide. He subsequently founded NRM Development Corporation and, later, Xorbox Corporation, which evolved into AirSep Corporation in 1986.

His work in the development of PSA systems led to the invention of the first portable oxygen concentrator. As a direct result of Mr. McCombs' contributions, the technology has become a viable, safe, and affordable part of the long-term oxygen therapy necessary for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and other lung diseases. He succeeded in refining the system and its design from weighing over 200 pounds to 45 pounds, and most recently, to an ambulatory device weighing only 4.4 pounds, small and safe enough that the Federal Aviation Administration has approved its use on airlines, allowing plane travel for hundreds of thousands of people for whom it was previously not possible.

For these and his many other inventions - he has been granted over 40 U.S. patents and hundreds more internationally - he has been honored three times in Inventor of the Year competitions. In 2004 he was made a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Intellectual Property Law Association (IPLA) in 2005; a Distinguished Alumni Award from Erie Community College in 2006; an Engineer of the Year Award from the UB Engineering Alumni Association in 2007; and the Thomas A. Edison Patent Award from the ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition in Seattle, Washington, in 2007.

Mr. McCombs is also a member of the Society of Automotive and Aeronautical Engineers.

He enjoys the classical guitar, sculpting and gourmet cooking. He was recently honored by being appointed Officier Maître de Table Restaurateur of the Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, the world's premier gourmet society.

His generous and continued dedication to creating and upgrading medical devices that ease breathing for millions of lung-disease sufferers has brought a powerful and lasting contribution to humanity, extending the lives of millions of people worldwide. Beyond its medical uses, Mr. McCombs was the originator of the application of PSA oxygen systems put to a wide variety of uses throughout the world, including metal cutting, wastewater treatment, fish farming, gold mining, and glass processing. The University at Buffalo School of Engineering is truly honored to name Norman R. McCombs as an alumni of great distinction whose continued career achievements merit our highest regard.